AI Insight
This study examined how social media engagement with environmental content influences Chinese university students' pro-environmental behaviors through psychological mechanisms. Using survey data and statistical analysis, researchers found three pathways through which social media engagement leads to environmental action: through intrinsic motivation alone, through personal environmental accountability alone, and through intrinsic motivation leading to accountability. The findings demonstrate that developing internal motivation for environmental action strengthens the activation of personal environmental norms.
Why it matters
The research provides evidence-based guidance for universities designing digital environmental education programs and for creating effective environmental communication content on social media platforms. Understanding these psychological pathways can help translate online environmental engagement into real-world pro-environmental behaviors among young adults.
Understand the Science
IntroductionIn the context of intensifying global ecological crises, leveraging social media platforms to foster spontaneous pro-environmental behaviors among college students has become a critical issue in sustainability research. This study integrates self-determination theory and the value-belief-norm theory to construct a serial dual-mediator model, with environmental intrinsic motivation and environmental self-accountability as sequential mediators. It examines how social media environmental engagement influences university students’ organizational citizenship behavior for the environment and the underlying psychological mechanisms.MethodsBased on survey data from a sample of Chinese university students, this study employs regression analysis and the bootstrap method for mediation testing.ResultsThe results support three coexisting mediation pathways: the separate mediating role of environmental intrinsic motivation, the separate mediating role of environmental self-accountability, and the serial mediating role of environmental intrinsic motivation followed by environmental self-accountability.DiscussionThese findings reveal a deep alignment between the motivational internalization mechanism of self-determination theory and the norm-activation mechanism of the value-belief-norm theory. Specifically, the deep internalization of intrinsic motivation systematically amplifies the effect of norm activation. Practically, these insights provide a basis for designing digital strategies for environmental education in universities and crafting content for environmental communication on social media.